2 Worcester robotics teams advance to world championship

WORCESTER — Worcester will be well-represented in St. Louis this weekend as teams from all around the world gather to compete in the FIRST Robotics World Championship, to be held April 23-26.

Team 1735, better known as the Green Reapers, comprises students from Burncoat Senior High School. Team 190, officially FRC-190, is made of students from the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science, a two-year high school located on the Worcester Polytechnic Institute campus.

The two teams have qualified for the competition, earning awards and distinction from the recent New England Championship event, and will join 400 teams from around the world with their 120-pound robots and armed with a vested interested in — and contagious passion for — high technology.

Mass. Academy's FRC-190 is a Legacy Team, one of the seven oldest teams in the world, and though their design qualified them to attend the world meet, they have a standing invitation each year based on their status. The Green Reapers, however, qualified on having been awarded FIRST Robotics' Engineering Inspiration Award, the second-highest honor a team can earn.

The Reapers' award celebrates outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team's school and community, said team mentor Nick Galotti, who founded the team in 2005 after a longtime involvement in FIRST Robotics. The award recognized the team for being actively involved in promoting involvement in science, technology, engineering and math fields in Greater Worcester.

"The members of our team are extremely dedicated to showing younger kids about robotics and engineering," said Mr. Galotti, who added that the Green Reapers participate in various events throughout the year, including a Geek is Glam workshop for Girl Scouts and an event at WPI called Touch Tomorrow, which invites kids to experience their robot, affectionately known as D-Fence 9.1 — a name that evolves with time and upgrades.

But even though the competition is fierce and the stakes are high, the inside story might surprise you. While both Worcester teams are looking to take the title, they have a long history of support and camaraderie, having shared insider secrets, workspace and even the same funding source for years.

WPI has been the main sponsor for the teams as they have advanced into the World Championships year after year, provided more than 90 percent of each team's expenses. The Green Reapers receive substantial funding from Boston Scientific, and FRC-190 procures additional funding throughout the school year by holding workshops at area elementary schools.

The relationship between WPI and the high school teams has been incredibly beneficial for everyone involved, said FRC-190 mentor Ken Stafford, who is also a WPI professor and Mass. Academy teacher.

"It is a huge benefit for teams like ours to have a reliable source of funding," he said, "and WPI has received national exposure for their involvement and support of the program. So it's a very synergistic relationship and we are grateful to WPI for seeing the worth in this program."

For the students, the thrill is in being around like-minded people and getting a chance to peek into their brains by seeing what they have come up with for the competition.

Gavin MacNeil, a Burncoat junior and proud Green Reaper, looks forward to checking out not only the robots but also the team names. One of his favorite moments in competition is when the Green Reapers are introduced. While other teams have cheers and dances to signal their presence, his team uses cloaks, scythes and evil glares as part of their entrance.

The whole experience is the culmination of everyone's hard work but is also designed to be fun and rewarding for everyone involved.

"It really is going to be amazing to see people coming together from all around the world for competition," Gavin said.